The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was a ministerial department of the United Kingdom Government, from July 2016 to February 2023. The department was formed during a

machinery of government The machinery of government (sometimes abbreviated as MoG) is the interconnected structures and processes of government, such as the functions and accountability of departments in the executive branch of government. The term is used particul ...

change on 14 July 2016, following

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

's appointment as

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. It was created by a merger between the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills and the

Department of Energy and Climate Change The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the government of the United Kingdom created on 3 October 2008, by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the ...

. On 7 February 2023, under the Rishi Sunak premiership, the department was dissolved. Its functions were split into three new departments: the Department for Business and Trade, the

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was established on 7 February 2023 by a February 2023 British ...

, and the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology.

Grant Shapps Sir Grant Shapps (born 14 September 1968) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from August 2023 to July 2024. Shapps previously served in various Cabinet of the United Kingdom, cabinet posts, including Chairman of ...

, the final secretary of state for the old department, became the first Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Responsibilities

The department had responsibility for: * business * industrial strategy * science, research, and innovation * deregulation * energy and clean growth * climate change While some functions of the former Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills, in respect of higher and further education policy, apprenticeships, and skills, were transferred to the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...

, May explained in a statement:

The Department for Energy and Climate Change and the remaining functions of the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills have been merged to form a new Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, bringing together responsibility for business, industrial strategy, science, and innovation with energy and climate change policy. The new department will be responsible for helping to ensure that the economy grows strongly in all parts of the country, based on a robust industrial strategy. It will ensure that the UK has energy supplies that are reliable, affordable, and clean, and it will make the most of the economic opportunities of new technologies and support the UK's global competitiveness more effectively.

Research and innovation partnerships in low and middle-income countries

BEIS spends part of the overseas aid budget on research and innovation through two major initiatives: The Newton Fund and the Global Challenges Research Fund, or GCRF. Both funds aim to leverage the UK's world-class research and innovation capacity to pioneer new ways to support economic development, social welfare, and long-term sustainable and equitable growth in low- and middle-income countries. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with partner countries to support their economic development and social welfare and to develop their research and innovation capacity for long-term sustainable growth. The fund is delivered through seven UK delivery partners.

National Security and Investment Act 2021

In August 2022, BEIS blocked the sale of Pulsic Limited in Bristol to a company owned by China's National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund. Pulsic is a chip design software company which makes tools to design and develop circuit layouts for chips. In November 2022, BEIS ordered Nexperia to sell at least 86 percent of Newport Wafer Fab, the largest chipmaking facility in the UK, which it had acquired in July 2021. In 2018, a Chinese corporation by the name of Wingtech Technology acquired Nexperia.

Devolution

Some responsibilities extend to England alone due to

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...

, while others are reserved or excepted matters that therefore apply to the other countries of the United Kingdom as well. Reserved and exceptioned matters are outlined below. Scotland Reserved matters: The Economy Directorates of the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

handles devolved economic policy. Northern Ireland Reserved matters: *

Climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

policy *

Competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

Consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

* Import and export control *Export licensing *Intellectual property *

Nuclear energy Nuclear energy may refer to: *Nuclear power, the use of sustained nuclear fission or nuclear fusion to generate heat and electricity *Nuclear binding energy, the energy needed to fuse or split a nucleus of an atom *Nuclear potential energy, the pot ...

Postal services The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sy ...

*Product standards, safety and liability * Research councils *Science and research *Telecommunications *

Units of measurement A unit of measurement, or unit of measure, is a definite magnitude (mathematics), magnitude of a quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same kind of quantity. Any other qua ...

Excepted matter: * Outer space *

Nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...

The department's main counterpart is: *

Department for the Economy The Department for the Economy (DfE, ) is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister for the Economy. DfE was renamed in 2 ...

(general economic policy)

Ministers

The final roster of ministers in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy were: In October 2016, Archie Norman was appointed as Lead Non-Executive board member for BEIS.

References

{{Authority control Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy 2016 establishments in the United Kingdom Business in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Energy in the United Kingdom Innovation in the United Kingdom Ministries established in 2016 2023 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Government agencies disestablished in the 2020s